SCREENSHOT Let's Play Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The endgame

[Parrhesia]

Four years ago...







... mistakes were made by me and by my dashing companion Eclipse.

It is the dark days of spring 2016. I stride back into my Other Games folder only to find it isn't actually called that anymore and there's an LP subsection and anyway Dandra wanted me to do this and I'm kind of bored and sleep-deprived and it's break right now and who cares, let's just do this because IT'S TIME FOR A FUCKING SEQUEL, BITCHES
STARRING...


HUMAN


LIZARD


GARBAGE


FURRY


MARKETING PLOY

and introducing...


THE DEMON CHILD OF WARIO AND ROADHOG


TAYLOR SWIFT

IT IS TIME



TO TACTIC!


And I am your host, Parrhesia. I am not fucking around, as you can tell because I picked the Red setting and not the Blue setting for this cartoon game made for babies.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - that's the full name, yes - is better than FFTA1 in Literally All Metrics. I liked FFTA1! A lot! Somehow. FFTA2, however, is objectively good. It's certainly better-written, however easy that may be, and like FFTA1 it details a golden Saturday-morning cartoon land where all is not remotely as idyllic as it seems.

Like 1, it has 300 missions - this time, though, they're all playable in some capacity. It has a couple more races, like 10-15 more classes (and stripped back only one, the insanely stupid Morpher) and it also just plays better. It's also on DS so, you know, graphical improvements. And a much better artist, um... intermittently.

But let's get to it.

We're introduced to a monologue, fade to black.

[spoiler=Update 1]Summer holidays are so close I can taste it.
I'm out that door as soon as the teacher stops talking.
Summer homework: keep a journal. That's not too bad.
Better write my name on my notebook before I forget.

The default name is Luso.
I like this name. Which is why I will ditch it, and name our protagonist in tribute of the greatest character not only in Final Fantasy Tactics, but in all of fiction.


Don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy about homework. Just, it could be worse.
And I can already guess what my first entry's going to be:
'Summer holidays, day 1: Aunt chewed me out. Grounded for a week.'
Maybe this journal thing's not such a great idea after all.

Unlike weak, beta Marche, Josmer Maradona Guinness is a cool alpha who not only is dumb and bad at school (and is possibly illiterate?) but gets shouted at a lot. Also his parents are dead.

Oh, we got another assignment, due today: "My Summer Holidays."
We're supposed to write our goals for the holidays. Well, here goes...

And we get a data entry segment. s multiple choice and kind of cute so I'm actually gonna play along with it.




... Maybe I can find a cat.
Heh, all that sounds pretty convincing. Summer holidays, here I come!

Not that I have any idea what I'm doing this summer.
But, I guess not having any expectations isn't all bad.
I mean, whatever ends up happening, it'll be a surprise!
Guinness is likable enough. And then, class is dismissed.


Except for us.

"Sorry, but your vacation doesn't start quite yet. Your friends are going home, but you're going straight to the library, young man."

The man asks us to think about why this might be. Guinness... has nothing.



Guinness, it turns out, is late.
A lot.

I can relate.

Either way, he's getting shoved into the library to clean up.


This... is a good point. Guinness' Boys back him up, nodding a lot. Guinness, incidentally, is at the top of the flying wedge, mess of brunet hair.

It's irrelevant. "Mr. Randell's waiting."

Wait.

Mr.. Randell...

Guinness thinks back to the stories of his childhood. Of what his father told him, about that time he woke up and couldn't work out if he was a DJ dreaming he was a zombie, or a zombie dreaming he was a DJ.
"Josmer," he said, leaning close...


And Guinness Understood.



There was no backing out. He had to get revenge. For his father. For... for his father, mostly, yeah. No matter how passive-aggressive he had to be.
He Had To Do This.


Only to be let down by the fact he's not even in this fucking dump.


He looks around. Canny players note that Babus is watching guard, leaning on the counter. And he opens the music-box, which plays music I can't-.





So he checks out the book.
But it's blank.

Wonder what it's about? The pictures are pretty cool. Swords... wizards... Huh?
That's funny. The book just stops halfway through. The pages are all blank!
Let's see what the last page with writing on it says... "One is fated to fill
these barren pages. Know you his name?"

"Know you his name"...? What's with all the backwards words? Well, I never pass
up a chance to write in a library book!

"... Josmer Maradona Guinness!"








Tune in next time to find out... what the fuck happened?

Edited January 1, 2017 by Parrhesia

[Alastor15243]

Oh I loved this game when I was a kid! My favorite thing to do was make a blue mage hunter with halved MP costs and ultima shot, it was so badass.

[Dandragon]

we going to the savage lands B O Y S

[Water Mage]

Funny coincidence, I just started a new file of this game today!

This game is one of my all-time favorites. I still remember my Seer with Illusion. Illusion+Magick Rush was fun! And my Geomancy Parivir, that guy was a monster!

But man, this game is a huge time sink!

Actually, all Ivalice games are all huge time sinks! Kinda interesting actually.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Water Mage

[maybe]

this will be good, probably

[ping]

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - that's the full name, yes - is better than FFTA1 in Literally All Metrics. I liked FFTA1! A lot! Somehow. FFTA2, however, is objectively good. It's certainly better-written, however easy that may be, and like FFTA1 it details a golden Saturday-morning cartoon land where all is not remotely as idyllic as it seems.

This is very true. I never finished FFTA1 because getting screwed over and over by ridiculous laws in every second fight isn't my idea of fun (I think I dropped it when a 2nd law slot was added), but I had a lot of fun with this one. Building up your abilities and looking for strong combos was probably my favourite part, although getting that 4th Thief ability is a annoyingly large roadblock.

Following!

[Espinosa]

Laws are way more annoying in this game tbqh. They actually always screw you up in a specific way.

[Alastor15243]

Laws are way more annoying in this game tbqh. They actually always screw you up in a specific way.

Yeah but at least now the judges don't flat-out arrest people for using potions.

[Moblin Major General]

I wonder what an FE playthrough would be like with laws? I kinda want to get into this game.

[Espinosa]

I wonder what an FE playthrough would be like with laws? I kinda want to get into this game.

You are not allowed to attack at 2-range, and if you do, your character is sent to your own prison where you have to use up materials to bring them back. Fun!

[Water Mage]

Laws are way more annoying in this game tbqh. They actually always screw you up in a specific way.

I prefer it that way, since at least it isn't random like it was in FFTA1. You know what to expect and you can prepare for it. And it's only one law.

[ping]

I prefer it that way, since at least it isn't random like it was in FFTA1. You know what to expect and you can prepare for it. And it's only one law.

And you can choose to ignore it. No reviving can make the fight harder, sure, but at least your units don't get arrested on the spot. The rewards for following the law get less and less relevant because (iirc) they don't scale with your game progress and at the start of the game, most laws are relatively tame.

There are some absolute bullshit laws that basically force you to break them on turn 1 (or as soon as you engage the enemy). Those are annoying, no question.

[Parrhesia]

Yeah, you can plan around them and ignore them if need be. Unlike FFTA1 where if you weren't keeping constant track of them you'd be like "oh... damaging animals is forbidden... ok"

Incidentally, I aim to use all 24 clan slots so if people have specific builds they'd like to see (ranging in viability from 'destroys everything in one turn' to 'please unironically try and use a bishop') feel free.

[Alastor15243]

I'm voting for my Hume Blue Mage Hunter with Half MP cost and ultima shot. Those are awesome.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Alastor15243

[Water Mage]

Yeah, you can plan around them and ignore them if need be. Unlike FFTA1 where if you weren't keeping constant track of them you'd be like "oh... damaging animals is forbidden... ok"

Incidentally, I aim to use all 24 clan slots so if people have specific builds they'd like to see (ranging in viability from 'destroys everything in one turn' to 'please unironically try and use a bishop') feel free.

May I ask for Seer with Magick Rush+Illusion combo? It's incredibly fun!

And a Parivir with Geomancy, a fun set as well!

[Laura]

i love this game but like... it's too long for my short attention span r i p

[Parrhesia]

[spoiler=Update 2]Seconds earlier...


Meet the squad. We'll get a chance to name the squad later.


The squad is established as both broke and shitty. I'll break it to you now - the guy who looks like the guy from Ace Attorney Investigations (no spoilers in this chat just in case but y'all will know who I mean.) is one of this game's two Cids. So they charge and-


There's a flash of light.



Dumping a baby onto the ground. Who the fuck?


A racist baby.
Cid plays it cool; asks the stranger to be calm, offers his protection. Thanks to Deus ex Machina, he needs to join the clan to live - can't die if you're in a clan, you see, for... some... reason... ?
Guinness is skeptical, asks why he should trust this strange man.


Cid raises a compelling counterargument.


So Guinness agrees, and Cid hurls a card in the sky...


Klesta's just like, 'let's just see how this plays out'.


Oh dear. Judge, what are you d-


what.
the.


ffffffffffffffuuuuuck???


Guinness, symbolically, has turned his frown upside down.


oh right the birds

Cid: Ah, he's brought the little ones along to feed. Stand back, stranger, we'll handle this lot. Ready yourselves!
Guinness: You're going to fight them?
Cid: Once you stand back as I've told you, yes.


Cid: Harrumph! Spoken like a true greenhorn! No, you will not die, but
get a beak in your eye and you might wish you had.
Guinness: Well, I didn't mean I'd go in first or anything. And I'm no fan of
getting beaked... But I won't just stand here while you do all the hard work.
C'mon, let me fight!
Cid: Hrm... I did not intend to make you fight when I invited you to join
us, however... You promise to do exactly as I say?
Guinness: Promise!


So we get into it. And you know what they fixed about A2?


THE LAW.

Being in a judged clan gives you a small bonus of your choice to stats. There is one law - the law is always the same in that mission no matter what it does not cycle. Upon map completion, you get a small 'Judge reward' which is a nice earlygame reward and totally fucking insignificant later on.

What if you break the law? You don't get that stat bonus, you don't get the bonus and you can't resurrect people. It's a way better system.

The laws, incidentally, I'm pretty sure don't affect the opposition.

For another day, really. No archery? We have no archers.


Let's just do this.


Our staffdaves exposit to us. White magi are the same as they basically always are, healers and defensive support units. They have good stats. They aren't terribly interesting. Viera - like this chick - humans and weird dog boys can be them.


Black magi are slow, powerful nukers. They learn fire, lightning and ice magic of three different levels and that's it, they're boring as sin. Humans, moogles and nu mou (like this guy) can be them, and they're slightly quicker/tankier/cleverer respectively.

Up at the top screen - along with the objective and law - there's the turn order for the next few. You can cycle through it. This is what is called 'good top screen functionality.' None of this gimmick shit, just 'useful things to be aware of at a glance.'


Sorry, bird.

They improved magic in this game, too. You start with like, 10 MP and regenerate I think 5 per turn, so you need to build up to big magic... or use an ether, I guess. In A1 you just started from full and it was only very rarely an issue.


Cid is mechanically treated as a bangaa, the Fight Race of lizardfolk, and his class for now is Warrior - Guinness (a human) is a human soldier. Functionally, the classes are nearly identical - slow, resilient and strong, they use swords and heavy armour and batter people into submission, with a skillset that reduces peoples' stats but are usually better off just hitting people. The main difference is a couple high-end skills.

Cid explains the guest mechanic that is in basically all TRPGs. He's not under our control, but he'll hold his own.


He can set himself on fire.

Really, this is a pretty boring fight. It's pretty much a joke, besides, what's this tubby bird gonna do? She's just gonna sit there and look-


-mad at us and OH SHIT



And yeah, now Lawrn... that's his name, yes, anyway, he's nearly dead. On Hard Mode... I don't know if you have to commit to rushing down Klesta but fuck if I'm unironically going to lose this fight. See, he's nearly dead and Nofilia, the priest (their names are pulled from the random pool) can only heal 22, so... yeah, he's fucking dead next turn regardless lol.

The birddaves are pretty insignificant, especially at level 1. So I'll ignore them and just have Guinness hit the...


... mama... bird... ?


bye ???


I guess we won?

Experience is pretty much entirely doled out at the end of missions now, and it's a flat 60 unless you're overlevelled (I don't think it can be more). JP, meanwhile, is a smaller number but, crucially, is doled out to all of your boyz. This means that if your weird hybrid build is caught between classes at the moment, they can kick their heels in the reserves while JP is acquired for them, and then they can emerge forth from the coccoon when fully formed! Just they'll be horribly underlevelled. The system works, anyway.


Cid's a reasonably good lad. Each has questions for the other. How did Guinness end up in the sky? What is this strange place? Where--


Nevermind. That can wait. Guinness is busy being an anime.


Fade to world map.

[ping]

So they actually managed to design a character to look even weirder than Nooj. Kudos! I never knew, Luso's portrait and sprite don't look especially out of place in a FF game.

They improved magic in this game, too. You start with like, 10 MP and regenerate I think 5 per turn, so you need to build up to big magic... or use an ether, I guess. In A1 you just started from full and it was only very rarely an issue.

You technically start with zero MP and regenerate 10 at the start of each turn, giving you the option to either spam your basic spells (8 MP) or save up for the bigger guns. Or use an ether, yes, but I'm one of those players who must conserve all the resources... -.-

Incidentally, I aim to use all 24 clan slots so if people have specific builds they'd like to see (ranging in viability from 'destroys everything in one turn' to 'please unironically try and use a bishop') feel free.

Uhm... Probably not the most exciting combo, but how about a Viera Spellblade / Green Mage? A character without ranged offense, but the ability to cast a few buffs when she's not killing stuff? I never really had a physical Viera in my FFTA2 team, so I have no idea how viable spellblades are. I did like green magic as a secondary skillset, though.

Edited September 29, 2016 by ping

[Parrhesia]

I think Luso looks worse considering how Marche looked pretty normal. And good class ideas, people - can't guarantee they'll all make it to the final cut but they're all under consideration, and there's a few I'm doing some proper phwoars at and licking my lips in anticipation for.

[Water Mage]

You said that you plan to use all 24 slots, does that mean you plan to use special units like Vaan, Penelo, Frimelda, Montblanc and Al-Cid

Most of them are pretty good, especially Frimelda, but frankly, Al-Cid kinda sucks.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Water Mage

[Parrhesia]

I will grit my teeth and use the special characters as squad players.

Let's also not be too open about spoilers, though I wouldn't count the forced cameos as spoilers.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Parrhesia

[Omegaprism]

I love this game! My requests are as follows:

Cid as a master monk (whatever as his secondary. White monk dovetails well)

Get Frimelda ASAP and patch up her speed with some much needed ninja levels

A moogle knight w/ a minor in juggling

I have more, but there are only 24 slots. Good hunting!

[Parrhesia]

[spoiler=Update 3]

Okay, lots to talk about!

Up top, you'll see an ???. That's our clan name. There's six heads because six guys, none of whom are out on patrol (they'll be greyed out then). The 'clan talents' are bullshit gatekeepers to missions and you will always have way more than you need of the last two, I have no idea what dictates them but the first two especially our Aptitude will be pains in the arse. Goldsun is the month which dictates recruitment but not yet. We're stuck with these six guys (more or less) for quite a while.

The rewards are money and resources - resources, in a tutorial I won't bore you with, become equipment. I mentioned 'JP' last update which was the FFT term and I meant 'Ability Points'. IIRC 30 is usual, 80 is for story missions. These dictate learning skills.

Oh yeah, JP were a thing in FFTA1 - as in Judge Points, which you powered your nuclear mapstrikes with. Not anymore though.

This is the map. Get used to it. Actually you probably won'tThe X is because the map is interconnected into little segments, of which this is one.

Anyway, here's our daves- wait.

you zombie motherfucker.

Anyway, our daves. Our lizardfolk's another warrior, the moogle's a Thief - they are the same as you'd expect, they're quick and all their abilities steal things. They use knives and are okay with them. Humans can also make thieves - with pretty much the same stats, as it happens.

The human is an Archer and that class has been ruthlessly fucked in FFTA2. It's not even a direct nerf - though their mediocre middling stats in FFTA1 have been reduced to now cunningly combine the speed of a soldier with the killing power of a thief - it's status. See, now, most attacks hit - base rate is 99%, evasion's usually like 0-15. The difference facing makes is that flank attacks deal more damage, backstabs even more.

Status... faces resistances ranging between 30 and 70%. So it's roughly as accurate as before from the front but without benefiting from flanking, and with physical attacks being buffed. I tried to beat the game on normal using only archers and they quickly became incapable of more than single-digit scratching proper tank classes. I got bored and gave up like 60% of the way through.

This guy will be noticeably the worst of our squad for a while, and it won't even really be his fault. But that's okay. I have plans.

Cid gets to the bottom of this: Guinness is kind of a moron.

But he has perspective, worrying about the thing I always worry about in any narrative of transportation like this.

But Cid's a good lad.

I clicked through the telling line ("While I'm stuck here, I may as well enjoy it, right?") but Guinness is just sort of gonna roll with what's going on while both of them strive to find him a way home. In the interim, he'll keep fighting with Clan... with... with Clan, um...

I had genuinely been agonising over this for like the two hours since starting this. And this is how I treat you. A stupid fucking pun.

I feel kind of guilty about not leaving the names up to a vote, really.

But then I figured I'd have to sift through 500 suggestions that our hero should be Ramza of Clan Dongs.

And I figured I didn't want to have to go there, you know? Didn't need that in my life.

After all, 'what to name things' is always such a clan of worms.

Moving on, then, we immediately reenter the pub which is still the hub for information, exposition and quests both side- and main. A nice touch is that there's dudes in the pub - possibly our own thief, an enemy archer, mage/fencer, the red guy is a master monk (a new class) and I think that's... just a generic seeq, the fat guy with a tail in the right?

I'm actually going to be avoiding sidequests as much as possible - recruitment's gated until a certain point in the game, you see, so I'm going to break that gate first and foremost and then use the cool AP on my full squad.

Our only choice for now is the next main quest, anyway. Simple work. Anyway, the other things the pub guy can d-

GUINNESS I'M NOT FUCKING DONE TUTORIALISING

The shop sells equipment, but her selection is terrible. The way to unlock new gear - as opposed to FFTA1, which would just sort of arbitrarily spit new stock in waves - is turning loot into new gear, which then gets sold. A few very specific items, that loot will only make one thing, but like... we hand the lead and the flower we just got into this chick and now she sells broadswords forever.

Annoyingly a new addition to FFTA2 is the fact that she sells equipment that's not only shitty but doesn't teach abilities, so I can't start out customising guys as much as I want yet.

This... I'm not gonna lie this is gonna be a massive pain in the arse when I'm trying to level like all 24 classes. It can get frustrating to be stuck in a logjam. I think they had the right idea but the execution could've been better.

Anyway, back at the pub - Quest Roster is new quests to pick up, Current Quests is where those quests go (most non-story quests have a time limit, usually 20 days), Notices I don't remember what they are it's been a while but I think they're story-relevant, Rumours are basically more tutorial. And finally, before I go to fight the first mission...

Spot the difference between a normal run of the intro and an LP run!

[Dandragon]

puns... Well it could have been worse. Could have been Clan of guinness world records, but thankfully that doesn't fit.

[Parrhesia]

[spoiler=Update 4]

birbs


Guinness is a good man.


Maybe too good for this cruel world.


Wait, what's got their hackles up?


"Company," as Cid succintly puts it - a wolf howls.


There's... three of them. And both wolves and 'baknamy' (goblins. they're fucking goblins) are pretty bad enemies. Law of the day is 'fire', so basically just... remember that when you're picking your black magic. We get a tutorial about it. Shelving the black mage for now just to not get the temptation - we get a maximum 5 units for this one, Cid the 6th.


I immediately get complacent.


Aaand maybe I gave wolves a bit less credit than they were due.


Still, the one that charged first is dead now and spat this out - loot! Easy, now - we outnumber them three to o-


HUH?!


Still, it's a really easy fight. As you'd hope, really.


Cid cleans up. This wolf drops... a wolf pelt.


Er, 'mangy mutt pelt', sorry.


Nothing novel in the postmatch talk, until... Guinness finds a book, or rather, Cid notices it and is like, 'what the fuck, you can read?!'
And with that, the top screen shifts from a quill on a blank table to...


This. And it fills itself in with Guinness' progress through the main questline.


Birds don't give a shit. Birds still just peckin' at the ground. Good lads.
Anyway - they're off to get to the bottom of this 'book' shit.


And, look, people have learned things! That means the next step is about to begin...


Okay, look, hear me out. Rodanu may have started out as an archer but he also makes a fucking terrible one. Trust me on this one. I've got Plans. Kyrie is now a monk - that's not necessarily his final plan, but monks have really good skills (especially a couple I don't have quite yet) and are just a really good earlygame class in general... besides, between Cid and Guinness, we already have two other soldier/warriors.

I'd change the viera and moogle too, but I'm yet to find the relevant weapons for what I need. Again, the earlygame's a bit awkward. We go back to the village.


GUESS WHO'S BACK

IT'S THE GOSSIP BOYZ

Hunter! Blue Mage! Who Gives A Shit! They're back!


They discuss that the road is blocked, which is bad timing, because Cid's caught onto an important fact about Targ Wood - this place fucking sucks. But Camoa, the big city up north, that's where the good shit is.


Guinness is learning how to solve problems through violence.

Funny thing is, the Gossip Boyz are almost certainly better at fighting than we are.


Free AP. One problem - we've not got the fruit.


We could do this, and although I said I'd keep Doing Things to a minimum until I had the boyz I needed... this is a sufficiently easy mission, and IIRC the late story missions before recruiting get pretty rough.


This is the story mission - we'll take that, too.


This man's entire squad was brutally murdered. Just because the Law system works better in gameplay terms doesn't mean that it's any better in-story, and in fact I'm not sure if it's ever really explained. In FFTA at least you lived in a sociopathic brat's totalitarian nightmare wrapped in a Saturday morning cartoon (I stand by that the story would have been good in the better hands of better writers!) but here?



Green magi are interesting, but not very good - as per the thread suggestion, I will be using one, but it won't be Nofilia.



We haven't actually unlocked the class yet - roughly a third of the game's classes need to be unlocked through quests.


Green magic is status. You will notice, however, she has a 40% hit rate to make our thief hit at 50% hit rates. This is a Problem for status classes.


Normally, they use maces to decent effect, as well as robes, and they have good stats (though only 3 movement). Three of the magi here, though, are unarmed. They also have great fashion, honestly.


Well, two can play at that game!


The monk does a spinning kick! Roundhouse just hits all adjacent targets for half damage. It's not great.


LAWRN NO


Complications. Almost. Thing with support magic is you kind of need more than three pugilistically-minded fashion girls, each called Miss Midori (yes, really), to back you up.


Nofilia wakes him up and I'm pretty much done talking about this fight, let's just fast-forward, shall we?



Here are the two other kinds of magic, Epilepsy and Crystal Meth. I will never use these again because Fire is the first option so unless there's resistances at play I just hit that.


So this thing's a treasure chest, one of the good ones - the ones that actually look like chests contain Garbage Trash and aren't worth opening even though I did anyway.



Our boy doesn't want me to stop tutorialising, though, and activates his Opportunity, uh, thing. You know, now that one of them is left.


This is for being alone. Next to one enemy and he'll get Frenzy, I think? Where he hits twice. Next to two allies and he hastes both and himself. And there's others, I guess. I mostly try for the above two.


Flurry, not Frenzy.


Cute.


They apologise and teach us to Green - and that's about it for today. Next up:


The return of Clan Dip?